Plasticity in male mating behavior modulates female life-history in fruit flies

In many species, intense male-male competition for the opportunity to sire offspring has led to the evolution of selfish reproductive traits that are harmful to the females they mate with. In the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, males modulate their reproductive behavior based on the perceived intensity of competition in their pre-mating environment. Specifically, males housed with other males subsequently transfer a larger ejaculate during a longer mating compared to males housed alone. While the potential fitness benefits to males from such plasticity are clear, its effects on females are mostly unknown. Hence we tested the long-term consequences to females from mating with males with distinct social experiences. First, we verified that competitive experience influences male mating behaviour and found that males housed with rivals subsequently have shorter mating latencies and longer mating durations. Then, we exposed females every other day for 20 days to males that were either ho...

在众多物种中，雄性为获得交配繁衍后代的机会而展开的激烈种内竞争，推动了一类自私生殖性状的演化——这类性状会对与之交配的雌性个体造成伤害。在黑腹果蝇（Drosophila melanogaster）中，雄性会根据其预交配环境中感知到的竞争激烈程度，调节自身的生殖行为。具体而言，与其他雄性共同饲养的雄性，相较于单独饲养的雄性，会在更长时长的交配过程中传递更多的精液。尽管这种行为可塑性为雄性带来的适合度收益已十分明确，但其对雌性个体造成的影响却鲜为人知。因此，本研究探究了与具有不同社会经历的雄性交配后，雌性个体所面临的长期生存与繁殖后果。首先，我们验证了竞争经历会影响雄性的交配行为：与竞争对手共同饲养的雄性，后续会表现出更短的交配潜伏期与更长的交配时长。随后，我们将雌性个体每隔一日暴露于雄性环境中，持续20天，所用雄性分别为……